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Wheee, episode two! To quote Dean from this episode, the hits just keep on coming. More angst for Winchesters, more end of the world saga, more fans left curled up in a ball at the end trying to recover from all the drama and distress. In other words, another classic.

It all begins with another musical montage, but instead of the seriously awesome "Lonely Is The Night" we got in "Are You There God It's Me Dean Winchester," we get a pretty lame "Long Long Way From Home" from Foreigner. Okay, really lame. The song really worked in "After School Special" but not as a prologue for the end of days. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I'll just end with that and move on.

One thing I do like is when the "Now" segment gets right to the Winchester saga and doesn't try to tease with the monster of the week. It starts with Bobby in a wheelchair, somberly looking out the window, while Sam stands in the doorway with concern. Oh, did I mention Phil Sgriccia is directing this? This means we're gonna get some pretty unique shots, like Bobby looking sad in the foreground while Sam watches in the background. Not unique for this show, but it's still really awesome in terms of emotional impact.

Dean arrives and mentions it's been three days now for Bobby. "We need to cheer him up. Maybe I'll give him a backrub." Sam isn't laughing because it's sinking in for him that Bobby might not bounce back this time. Dean looks at Sam with an "are you sure?" and Sam's return glare confirms it. Dean sadly accepts. These guys have gotten so good at nonverbal communication what they do is often better than words. I'll be transcribing a lot of non-verbal exchanges in this one. Sam changes the subject by asking what Dean's got in the large yellow envelope he's holding. It seems Dean went to radiology and got himself a chest x-ray. "Needless to say, the doctors are baffled." Sam pulls out the picture and whoa! That's more than just some little sigil. That's apocryphal graffiti on every single inch. "Holy crap!" Sam exclaims as he examines the x-ray with eyes bulging out of his head. "Yeah, well Cas carved you one too," Dean mentions just for those two or three people that didn't catch on that Castiel did that to both of them last week.

Sam gets a call. It's Castiel. Sam tells him where they are and the next shot has Castiel walking towards them. "Cell phone, really?" Dean asks. "Since when do you need to reach out and touch someone?" While that's a clever line Dean, I think you know why. Castiel will point it out anyway. They're hidden from all angels, including him. "Enough foreplay," Bobby says interrupting. "Get over here and lay your damn hands on."

The shot goes to Sam, Castiel, and Dean looking at Bobby with concern. Of course this is the part where I start giggling profusely because this is the scene Misha told us about at Comic Con. The scene where he has to walk in between Sam and Dean to go to talk Bobby and Jared kept grabbing his ass and tripping him out of camera view to get him to screw up. Okay, back to the serious stuff. Oh, hold on... I hope that makes the gag reel.

Anyway, Castiel can't heal Bobby. He's cut off from Heaven and some things he can do, some things he can't. Bobby is not taking this news well. "You're telling me you lost your mojo just in time to get me stuck in this trap for the rest of my life?" Castiel says he's sorry, Bobby tells him to shove it up his ass. Uh, Bobby, he could get that power back someday. Don't burn bridges.

Dean lightens the mood. "Well at least he's talking now." "I heard that!" Bobby shouts back. Well good, he's not deaf. Castiel gets things moving, since he doesn't have much time. Dean's plan to kill Lucifer, it's foolish. It won't work. He thinks he has the solution. There is someone strong enough to fight Lucifer other than Michael. Sam asks who. Oh come on Sam, even I know the answer by now. The one resurrected him and put Sam and Dean on that airplane. G-o-d. Ring a bell? Castiel is going to find God. Well, I suppose he does have better connections, but stillâ€¦hefty order. I smell a George Burns joke coming in the future.

Title sequence. Good teaser!

Back to the room where they've all gone in and Dean has closed the door. Yeah, this might be better served as a private conversation, even though everything leading prior has been for all ears. Castiel theorizes that since God isn't in Heaven, he must be somewhere. Dean thinks the plan is harebrained and we know so because he breaks out a joke. "Try New Mexico, I hear he's on a tortilla." Castiel looks puzzled by the advice. "No, he's not on any flatbread." Oh, I hope Castiel isn't too humanized. I absolutely love those reactions that only an angel that doesn't get humanity can do. Then Dean calls him "Chuckles". That must be Dean's code word for "no sense of humor." I love it when he uses that.

Dean gets to his point though, and it's not pretty. "Even if there is a God, he's either dead, and that's the generous theory, or he's up and kicking and doesn't give a rat ass about any of us." Castiel looks mad. Dean goes on ranting like he normally does. They're at the end of days there and God is probably somewhere drinking booze out of a coconut. Now Castiel has had enough, and even tells Dean "enough." This isn't a theological issue, it's strategic. Dean calls it a pipe dream, and good thing for him Castiel doesn't send him zooming into the wall. Instead, he says something better! He gets into Dean's face and flashes those commanding angel eyes of his. "I killed two angels this week, my brothers. I'm hunted, I rebelled, and I did all of it for you. And you failed. You and your brother destroyed the world and I lost everything for nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself." Whoo! I absolutely love the cadence of that last line. He's an angel on the edge!

Dean takes this all in with some guilt, so Bobby keeps the conversation moving asking if he came there for something. Yes, an amulet. A very rare and powerful amulet. It burns hot in God's presence. Bobby doesn't have one and come on, everyone watching already knows which one he wants. After all, the boards for four years have been harping on Kripke and company to explain the significance of Dean's amulet. This is long overdue and has been sitting on the writers white board for some time.

Castiel turns to Dean with those oh so special angel eyes, and Dean's shocked to find it's his amulet. Castiel even asks nicely, "May I borrow it?" Dean's quick reaction is predictable, no. So, Castiel stops being polite. "Dean, give it to me." Dean looks horrified like he's about to give up his best friend, which essentially he is since it's one of his two greatest possessions, but one more long look at the seriousness of Castiel's face and he agrees. He takes it off his neck, gazes at it in the palm of his hand, and before handing it to Cas instructs, "don't lose it." Castiel takes it from him and Dean is not happy. "Well great, now I feel naked." Hmm, Dean naked. That vision in my mind is so powerful I don't even notice Castiel flying away. I snap out of it during Bobby's parting words. "When you find God, tell him to send legs!"

Next scene is Rufus Turner, yes Rufus Turner from season three's "Time Is On My Side," with an automatic weapon firing against someone. He helps a wounded teenager while they duck behind a car and then calls Bobby. They're in River Pass, Colorado. Bobby tries to get more info, but the sound of guns going off is a good enough message for him. The phone cuts dead. Next scene is the Impala showing up in River Pass, and I'm sorry, there's no quick way to get from anywhere in Ohio to Colorado by car. They could have been there in 24 hours if they drove straight. The time lapses in this show!

Comments

Once again, stellar commentary, so I've got nothing to add, though my oldest finds it funny when dad cries like a Dean, but what the hell WAS with the Foreigner? Apocalypse, people. Really, CW, is snagging some, oh, I don't know, BLACK SABBATH *that* expensive?

I was screaming at the TV when the last scene played out: "Go back! What's wrong with you! Go back and fix it!" Man, when a show gets under your skin ...

Loved the review. It's read-out-loud-able (that a word?) and you have such a clear voice. It's pitch perfect. And I always love your car love, especially the Mustang comments here. Can't wait to see the other horsemen.

And Castiel is tough. So glad he has a character arc this season. MC plays it so well (because angels could have been a really lame drag on this show, but In Kripke We Trust!).

Episode three ... Jess comes back. Anyone else notice in the promos that she was wearing white like in Season One?

To play devil's advocate on the rock salt - There's a river, people probably fish in it and perhaps they like to smoke their fish. To do that, most folks brine it first and so it could be that they use a lot of salt in this town.

I was too wound up at the start to really register Foreigner, but you're right ... it was pants. Heaven and Hell would have been much better, Dio-era Sabbath are my favorite incarnation of the band. My personal top tune to end the world on would have to be Orgasmatron by Motorhead which fits the bill perfectly and would probably be pretty cheap as well as I suspect that Lemmy is far too fried nowdays to drive a hard bargain.

Loved the Mustang. I have happy memories of Mustangs ... Snigger ...

The ending was probably the most upsetting thing I've seen in the whole series and that's really saying something!I spent the entire day mentally rocking in a corner clutching a wad of soaked hankies and sniffing loudly. Mr. K owes us a huge wedge of feelgoodiness to make up for all this the woe ... Hands up anyone who thinks we'll get it ... Anyone? ... Er, Hello?

Sorry, dunno where that extra "the" came from, I was having a conversation about raspberries and trying to keep a kitten off the keyboard at the same time so my multi tasking mojo seems to have overloaded ...

I successfully managed to lose my comment again Suze, I'm with you, The Krip owes us big time. At the very least, he should pay for all he kleenexes we have to use up and the comfort foods that usually follow.

And I agree, the song for the opening sequence was way off, but they did use Spirit in the Sky beautifully. Generally I'm just glad that we seem to be getting more of the music back.

As for muscle cars, I am completely uneducated about them, but the Mustang certainly looked great. I wonder what the other three horsemen drive, I hope they won't all be Mustangs though..some variety would be nice.

As a whole, this ep was definitely more together than the last, except for the sudden reintroduction of so many characters - that was a teeensy bit too rocky for me. But hey, it's still great to see Rufus, Ellen, and Jo all back. Also, Ellen splashed, hugged, and whoop-assed Dean, but barely looked at Sam....I wonder why...

Oh and the scene in the hospital was pure awe. Cas is truly refining his badassery, and I approve 8-) . I'm still curious about the amulet though. Bobby gave it to Sam to give to John, but he didn't know what it was for? If he thought it was just any other old charm, why go through the trouble? What did he think it was?

Sam and all his man pain and all his Sam issues, Dean and his man pain and his trust issues, as well as that final scene...I can't say anything *sniff sniff*

I've spend the all weekend playing that final scene in my head and feeling miserably (letting a tv show to get that way under your skin?! Freud would love us all in his couch ), so the best way I found to stop that was become really shallow..... let's see... Sam tied up to a chair, Sam shirtless, Dean shirtless ...... major drooling on my keyboard now! It works! Guaranteed :-), well at least until next episode when Kripke will most likely do it again!

It's episode tree for you there so hope you enjoy and I'll be back tomorrow night after I see it (nop! this year I'm not reading anything before I see it first!)

Oh, Alice those crying smiles are great! Can't you put those for us to use to on the comments?

Great recap Alice. Your recap of the last scene was right on. I know the storyline needed to have the brothers split for effect, but I always hoped they would work it out together. That was also a very viable option.

Good point about Sam not having told Dean about Ruby's last comments. Had Dean known, he would have viewed the situation different. Sam was not addicted, at least not to the blood. And this 'lust for power' they are bringing in is not uncommon, just ask any politician, just much more of an issue for someone with Sam's abilities.

I am also wondering if, on camera, Dean ever told Sam he broke the first seal. Is that a secret Dean is keeping? Maybe I missed it.

I think one of your poll options of locking the boys in a room until they work things out, might have some merit.

Alice, the fact that you nailed every single microsecond of this episode is just amazing, but did more than JUST that, you made us realize how sexy and gorgeous those two guys are under any and/or every circumstance.

Tks for remind me why I love SPN so much, and to made almost pee in my pants with your so funny comments..

Thanks so much for your recap. It was uplifting to read your light humour comments,on such a very heavy episode. Kripke and Co. are really outdoing themselves so far (I wonder if they have shares in Kleenex). I donâ€™t know if my heart is going to be able to take any more heart wrenching moments before totally disintegrating.

My heart is sore and broken from the last scene even though I understand the why of it. Poor boys! I hope that Sam finds a way to make Dean trust him again. Poor Dean is so broken and hurt right now and he has lost the most precious thing he has ever loved.

Can't help hoping that before this series ends, I really really want to see a happy Dean again. A laughing Dean enjoying his life, his food and his flirting and teasing. And an indulgent Sam fondly smiling at his brother's antics again. Want to feel the love between them again before it is all finished.

Please Mr. Kripke! If you do this, I will be able to survive the angst and the sorrow. A huge mutual hug with tears sometime in the future is a must! I must have these things to heal my broken heart!